Current external engagement opportunities:

For information on all our current external engagement opportunities please see our 'Acitve and Involved' Bulletin

Shaping our endoscopy services

An endoscopy is a test that looks inside the body using a long flexible tube called an endoscope. It has a tiny camera and light on the end. Endoscopies are commonly used to look at the food pipe (oesphagus) stomach and bowel (intestines). It is not usually a painful procedure, but it can be uncomfortable, so a local anaesthetic or sedative (medication that has a calming effect) may be given to help you relax. Endoscopies have the benefit of being able to provide instant results. They can also help us understand if we need to undertake some biopsies (where a small sample of body tissue is taken).

An endoscopy might be recommended to investigate symptoms such as difficulties or pain when swallowing (dysphagia), indigestion, altered bowel actions or to eliminate any possibility of cancer. Endoscopies can be used to carry out certain surgical procedures such as removing gallstones, repairing a bleeding stomach ulcer or to remove small tumours from the lungs or digestive system.

Our patients tell us that they are very happy with the service we provide but we are always striving to improve the way we work. We would like to hear from patients and carers to make sure we are providing the right information in the right places prior to your procedure. We would also like to know what people think about where they are seen for their endoscopy and how easy it is to access our service.

Please take five minutes to share your experience of using our service so that we can continue to improve the way we work. You can fill in our online survey here:https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=145071214911 or print out the survey below and return it using the freepost address. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a paper copy of the survey on 0113 84 35470 or email commsleedswestccg@nhs.net.

If you have any questions about this survey please contact Rosemary Horsman at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Ageing without Children

One in five people over the age of 50 don’t have children by choice or circumstance. By 2030 two million people will be over the age of 65 without adult children and yet, in all the many debates and discussions on ageing, it has been almost completely overlooked.

Ageing without Children was set up on 2014 to consider the issues affecting people ageing without children and in 2015 conducted a survey of 400 people ageing without children to find out their biggest concerns.

The biggest fear (92 respondents) was having no-one to speak up for them or act in their best interests when they could no longer do so for themselves

65 were worried they had no-one to call on in an emergency

78 feared being lonely and losing their peer group

50 were afraid they would be abused or neglected

Other major issues were: help with practical tasks (36), being unable to afford care (24) and end of life care (24)

Leeds City Council has been very supportive of AWOC and the first local AWOC group in the country has been set up in Leeds. It has been meeting since the summer of this year and hopes to attract funding to enable the group to expand and develop. If you are interested in being part of this group please contact Jean Basson or Monica Slocombe at awocleeds@gmail.com